Overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device

ABSTRACT

Overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device consists of a hard ( 1 ) overlay for the physical and thermal protection of pools ( 2 ), working is isolation at the bottom as a structured slab with ironmongery properly spaced, made largely by styrofoam ( 3 ) using concrete (C) as the binding element, which makes its density very close to that of water, being equipped with a tubular device ( 4 ) that can be emptied and filled with water from the pool itself, using the vacuum and ( 5 ) and recess system ( 6 ) on the outside of if, thereby allowing the buoyancy of the overlay ( 1 ) inside the pool ( 2 ).

This application for Patent of Invention of an unprecedented overlay forprotection of pools with floating adjustment device, notably an overlaybuilt in concrete and styrofoam in a proportion that gives it a similardensity to water whose buoyancy occurs thanks to a tubular device, whichwhen filled with water keeps it at the bottom and when empty raises theoverlay, which becomes a physical and thermal protection for thewaterline by positioning it at the border level.

Pool protection is used for numerous purposes, but the main is to form abarrier to prevent children, animals, insects, or even more unsuspectingadults from falling into the water. Another feature of these protectionsis to avoid water contamination by (leaves, dirt/sand). Finally, theprotection also serves as thermal insulation in order to keep thetemperature of the water in a nice range when shutting down the swimmingpool heater, as well as prevent the incidence of solar rays fromspeeding up the evaporation of conservation elements, such as, forexample, chlorine.

Corroborating and summarizing the statements above, in addition to thesafety, protection also results in other benefits, with emphasis on theeconomy in pool maintenance, temperature decrease compensation duringthe night, in which protection reduces the heat loss, causing it toincrease the period you can use the pool and reducing the spending withheating.

Several types of cover for pools are known, and each meets differentneeds. Winter, solar and safety covers are similar, differing only inthe purposes indicated by their own names, because the winter cover ismade of material of greater durability, because it will be used for alonger period of time. In turn, the solar are thinner, thus allowing thesun's rays to penetrate and heat the water, causing the water toevaporate. The safety cover is made of tougher material and has lessflexibility. Another cover very used and very different from the alreadymentioned above is the telescopic cover, which is made of mobile panelsand allows the swimming pool to be used all year round.

The current state of the art anticipates the patent document MU8500133-3 “Floating Mat Type Pool Cover”, which consists of comfortablemats with physical, chemical and floating resistance, capable of beingapplied in two or more situations without belonging to the inconvenientparts set in the area of use, with the purpose of covering the poolduring idle times in an easy and fast operation.

The patent document cited as state of the art partially solves theproblems related to the pool coverage, but concerning one of its mainuses (protection against falls) it fails as it isn't a floating mat, andbecause it has no structure that supports the weight on the same, and ifa child walk on the same mat he/she will immediately sink.

The PI 0002225-0 “Modular Cover for Pools and Related” consists of atleast two non-flat modules, in longitudinal and transverse profiles,lightweight, resistant and anticorrosive protection, upon which aresupported and set out the elements highly resistant to the action oftime and impacts; high transparency; thermal insulation and lightnesseffect. Each module is supported directly and/or indirectly along thepool side borders, completely covering it through a fastening systemthat allows the sliding of the modules, overlapping each other.

Despite the physical and thermal protection function, theconstructiveness of this product occupies the external area (adjacent tothe border) to its fastening, and can interfere in the movement ofpeople causing them to stumble or even fall.

Aware of the state of the art, gaps and constraints, after studies andresearches, the inventor, expert in the field, created the presentoverlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment device, whichconsists of an overlay working parallel to the bottom of the pool in anarea little less than it, and when out of use rises to the level of theborder through the emptying of a tubular reservoir, which when filledwith water from the pool itself goes to opposite direction until it isparallel to the bottom, since the overlay is built with concrete andstyrofoam in a proportion such that its density is very close to that ofwater, so that only with the offset of the volume of water contained inthe device is possible to promote its buoyancy, conforming a half whenhigh, to avoid water contamination with dirt, also serving as a thermalinsulator and enabling the movement of people on the same.

In this sense, the invention has as main purpose the protection of thepool when it is not in use, to avoid the accumulation of dirt, the visitof unwanted domestic animals, birds, insects, keeping the chemicalproperties of water for longer, allowing savings in maintenance andheating due to the excellent thermal insulation coefficient arising outof styrofoam used in its manufacture. Regarding safety, the overlayproves to be hard/resistant, providing tranquility in places withpotential risk of accidents, such as places with children.

Constructively, the overlay works alone at the bottom of the pool, suchas precast slabs, with the difference that it is mostly made ofstyrofoam, so that the set keeps its specific weight very close towater's. The pool should be built more deeply in order to compensate forthe height of overlay, so that when the pool is in use the overlay (atthe bottom) does not reduce the useful height of the pool itself. Inturn, the edges of the overlay feature a projection that prevents wateron the same from flowing into the pool, and the rainwater is drainedthrough a drain located above the overlay, which directs it to the sewerwhen opening a valve. This drain also works as connection point to thesuction hose when the overlay is at the bottom, for emptying the waterreservoir when the same need to be raised. The lowering is accomplishedby connecting the hose to the external point of the return pipe.

In short, the overlay pled herein features the following mainadvantages:

-   -   Safety;    -   Reduced cleaning;    -   Practicality;    -   Heating for a longer;    -   Maintenance savings;    -   Chlorine saving;    -   Ideal pH maintenance;    -   Power saving;    -   Aesthetic improvement;    -   Floor as useful area when high.

To better explain the invention, below are provided the drawings thatrepresent it in an illustrative and non-exhaustive way.

FIG. 1: Sectional top view of the overlay for protection of pools withfloating adjustment device;

FIG. 2: Sectional elevation view of the overlay for protection of poolswith floating adjustment device on the surface;

FIG. 3: Sectional elevation view of the overlay for protection of poolswith floating adjustment device at the bottom;

FIG. 4: Perspective view of the overlay for protection of pools withfloating adjustment device in use.

The overlay for protection of pools with floating adjustment deviceconsists of an overlay (1) for physical and thermal protection of pools(2), working in isolation at the bottom as a structured slab withironmongery properly spaced, filled predominantly with styrofoam (3),using concrete (C) as the binding element, which makes its density veryclose to that of water, being equipped with a tubular device (4) can beemptied and filled with water from the pool itself, using the vacuumsystem (5) and return (6) located on the outside of it, thereby allowingthe buoyancy of the overlay (1) inside the pool (2).

More particularly, the overlay (1) pled herein consists of a flatstructure and border (7) with specific weight very close to that ofwater, which is largely made in styrofoam slabs (3) and concrete (C) asbinding element, working in isolation at the bottom of the pool itself(2). The buoyancy of the overlay (1) occurs thanks to a “lung” conformedby a tubular device (4) forming a reservoir strategically located inrelation to the surface of the overlay (1), which can be emptied orfilled with water (A) from the pool itself, respectively through anexternal point (8) on the suction pipe (5) or through a second externalpoint (9) connected the return pipe (6) of the filter system through ahose (M). Therefore, once the tubular device is full (4), the specificweight of the overlay (1) becomes greater than that of water, whichleads it to the bottom. On the other hand, when the tubular device isempty (4), the density of the overlay (1) is less than that of water andtakes it up. That is when it works as a protection. Adjacent to thetubular device (4), there is a window (10) covered with grill (11),which allows you to access the pipe and the recess (12) at the bottom ofthe pool, which aims to accommodate the drain (13) hose and the vent(14) hose that prevents the formation of vacuum in the hydrauliccircuit. A drain (15) is installed in the overlay (1) above the tubulardevice (4) to drain any water on it, as, for example, rainwater, whichis directed to the sewer network before passing inside the device,through a valve (17), without any contact with the pool water. The drain(15) will also serve as the interconnection point (8) of vacuum foremptying the tubular device (4), when it needs to be elevated. Theoverlay's (1) perimeter was designed in a border shape (16) and preventsthe water accumulated on the surface from flowing to the inside of thepool. In turn, when the pool is not in use you can aspire not only thewater from the tubular device (4), but also the water on the surface ofthe overlay (1) so that it will withstand a weight of at least 30 kg/m2,a condition in which people can walk on the same.

The claimed is: 1) Overlay for protection of pools with floatingadjustment device, wherein it is a flat structure and border (7) made bystyrofoam slabs (3) and concrete (C), which makes its specific weightvery close to that of water; on the surface of the overlay there is atubular device (4) forming a reservoir, which can be emptied or filledwith water from the pool itself, respectively through an external point(8) on the suction pipe (5) or on a second external point (9) connectedto the return pipe (6) of the filter system; adjacent to the tubulardevice (4) there is a window (10) covered with grill (11), which allowsyou to access the pipe and the recess (12) at the bottom of the pool,which accommodates the supplying (13) and drain (14) hose; a drain (15)is installed in the overlay (1) above the tubular device (4) to drainwater to sewage network through a valve (17) and connect the suctionpipe (8) and return (9) to the tubular device (4).